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This is a comprehensive and accessible textbook that helps students understand the key themes of world history within a chronological framework stretching from ancient times to the present day.
Written in a unified authorial voice, it is the go-to textbook for World History courses and students.
List of contents
PART I: Organizing world history 1. Making sense of world history PART II: Prehistory and ancient history 2. The Big History prelude: From the Big Bang to hominids 3. Evolution of human nature itself in early human history 4. A critical transformation: The development of agriculture, nomadism, and fishing 5. Some early impacts of agriculture: Key technologies and trade practices 6. Grappling with “civilization”: The development of cities, states, and writing 7. Early civilizations around the world 8. Belief systems: The nature and development of early religions PART III: Classical history 9. Political organization on an unprecedented scale: The classical empires 10. Similarities and differences: The Roman and Chinese Empires compared 11. The birth of missionary religions: Why and how did the world’s major religions emerge? 12. A new force in world history: The Islamic conquests 13. Eurasia in the centuries after the fall of the classical empires PART IV: The Middle Ages 14. Seeking global commonalities: Some key thematic trends 900–1500 and beyond 15. Regional developments: Eurasia after 900 16. Regional developments: Polynesia, the Americas, and Africa 17. The Mongols and the largest ever contiguous empire PART V: The Early Modern period 18. Thematic developments in the Early Modern period 1450–1800 19. Exploration and trade: Linking the continents 20. Comparing new empires in Asia 21. It seems so natural now: The emergence of the modern nation state 22. The Great Divergence: The rise of the European economy and military PART VI: The nineteenth and twentieth centuries 23. Key thematic transformations of the long nineteenth entury 24. Industrial revolutions: Innovation, factories, and economic growth 25. Political revolutions around the world: A diverse set of experiences with important commonalities 26. A unique historical transformation: The abolition of slavery and serfdom 27. Key thematic transformations of the twentieth century 28. Devastation and fear: War in the twentieth century 29. The worst of times and the best of times: The Great Depression and postwar recovery 30. An unprecedented development: Postwar decolonization 31. Population movements: Dramatic changes in the numbers, location, and health of humans PART VII: Drawing lessons 32. Drawing lessons from history: Why, how, and what
About the author
Rick Szostak is a professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. He is the author of eighteen books and sixty journal articles spanning the fields of world history, economic history, history of technology, methodology, interdisciplinary studies, and knowledge organization.
Summary
This is a comprehensive and accessible textbook that helps students understand the key themes of world history within a chronological framework stretching from ancient times to the present day. Written in a unified authorial voice, it is the go-to textbook for World History courses and students.
